Teochew Png Kueh 饭粿

I have been married to a Teochew for the past 17 years and this is my first attempt making the Teowchew Png Kueh.   I must say, I'm quite proud of the successful end products.

Once you have mastered the basic technique of making kueh dough, it is actually quite easy to make any kind of kuehs including Png Kueh. 

I'm not sure if Png Kueh really originated from the Teochews, but this is  definitely a must-have item during festivals and prayers at my mother-in-law's place.   

Teochews usually like their Png Kueh.to be pan-fried and serve them with sweet sauce.  But I prefer the skin of my kuehs to be soft and chewy, so I will usually just steam them.  Whichever way you like it, you will definitely enjoy this recipe. 

Soon Kueh 笋粿

Soon Kueh is a common snack in Singapore.

Authentic and traditional soon kuehs use mashed yam in the dough and of course requires more effort to make.  Bamboo shoot is also added to the filling (that's why it is called 笋粿 - 笋 means bamboo shoot).  

But this recipe is a much simpler and more common version.  The skin of the dumpling is chewy and transparent, the way that I like it.  I also omitted bamboo shoot in the recipe, as my children do not like the taste of it.  I added more ingredients like koo chai and black fungus in the filling, but these are optional.   

Oven-Baked Honey BBQ Pork - Char Siew (蜜汁叉烧)

Contrary to belief that making Char Siew (BBQ Pork) is a cumbersome and complex process, you can actually make a quick Char Siew Rice dinner on a busy work-week night. 

Marinate the pork the night before and just pop the meat into the oven for 30 minutes while you cook the rice.  Dinner will be ready in less than an hour.  

It is important to choose the right cut of meat for making Char Siew.  I usually use pork collar which has slightly more fat but gives juicer meat and is more tender.  You can also use pork shoulder if you prefer the meat to be leaner.  Tell your butcher your are using it for making Char Siew, so that he will cut the meat into long strips. 

Making the perfect Char Siew requires some trials and errors.  Some prefer it to be sweeter, others prefer it to be more "burnt".  Adjust the marinade and cooking duration accordingly to your liking.  But this is definitely one quick meal recipe to keep. 

Home-Made Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 cup Sweet Relish, minced
2 tbsp Big Onion, minced
1 tbsp Capers
2 tbsp Dijion Mustard
1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Sugar
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley Leaves

Directions:

1. In a big bowl, stir together all ingredients.  
2. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. 
3. Serve with Beer Battered Fish and Chips.

 

Crispy Beer Battered Fish

The best way to cook deep-fried battered fish is to add beer to your batter.  

The bubbles in the beer add body and lightness to the batter, giving the fried fish a layer of delicious crispy coating that envelops all the moisture in it.  

I served the fish with some chips and home-made tartar sauce and it was a big hit with my family.  Even my husband, who dislikes fried food, gave a thumbs-up for it.      

Oven-Baked BBQ Ribs

This is switch up of the BBQ sauce I used for my Smoky Buffalo Wings Recipe. 

You do not need to be a master griller to make BBQ Ribs.  No fire, no smoke, just a regular oven at home and you will be able to serve up slabs of juicy tender ribs.  

 

Cereal Prawn

Cereal Prawn, an all-time-favourite among young and old, is served at almost all Zhi-Char Stalls and restaurants in Singapore.

There are many cereal pre-packed mix available at the supermarket.  But you could make this dish easily just by using instant nestum cereal.  

You can also substitute prawns with fish or chicken. 

Chocolate Chips Cookies

There are thousands of Chocolate Chip Cookies recipes available on the internet.  With all of them claiming to be the best recipe, I'm not gonna join in the rat race.

I've baked the cookies many times using this recipe - for Chinese New Year, children's party and even charity fair.  So, you can decide for yourself if this recipe is good enough for you. 

 

Potato Soup

Decide to have a soup with my Pan-Seared Grouper Fillet for dinner tonight. 

Too lazy to run down to the supermarket to pick up the ingredients needed for a cream soup, I had to rely on the three potatoes in my fridge (the only ingredient available) to whip up something.

Surprisingly, the Potato Soup turned out to be super yummy and creamy, although no cream is used in this recipe.  


This soup will also make a very satisfying meal on its own with same green salad and a slice of garlic toast.

Potato Soup

Singapore Chilli Crab

Ranked no. 35 on World's 50 Most Delicious Food complied by CNN GO (as at July 2011), this dish needs no further introduction.

Eating crabs at a restaurant with a group of 4 could easily set you back around S$100.  At a fraction of the cost, you could replicate this delicious dish easily in your own kitchen.    

Kam Heong Chicken 甘香鸡

Kam Heong Chicken is a very popular dish served at Chinese Restaurants and Zhi-Char Stalls.    

Although this recipe calls for a long list of ingredients, let me assure you that your effort will be well worth.  The marriage of the sweet, salty, spicy and tangy tastes with the fragrant curry leaves gives this dish an incredible aroma and flavour.

You can also cook prawns, crabs and clams with the Kam Heong Sauce.  

 

Best Chwee Kueh Recipe 水粿

This is a tried-and-tested recipe for Chwee Kueh.

A good Chwee Kueh is soft, light and supple in body.  The savoury chai-poh (preserved radish) topping plays an important role too.  It must be aromatic and nicely browned with the right amount of oil in it.  Those who have tried the famous Chwee Kueh at Tiong Bahru and Bedok Hawker Center, would definitely know the criterion for good Chwee Kuehs.

This recipe produces Chwee Kuehs of almost perfect consistency.  Follow the steps in this recipe diligently and you will definitely earn a thumbs-up from your family.

Mediterranean Sauce

Mediterranean Sauce

Mediterranean Sauce is a perfect combination with pan seared fish.  Made with Vitamin C rich vegetables such as tomatoes and capsicums, this sauce is definitely a healthier option as compared to a butter or cream based sauce.

Besides serving it with fish, you can also toss it with pasta or switch it up as a filling/topping for a quick snack like Pizza Roll and Cheesy Bruschetta.

Traditional Mediterranean Sauce calls for white wine and olive in the recipe.  However, as Asian families rarely keep these ingredients in their kitchen, I've twigged the recipe a little to suit Asian home cooking.
  
 

Mediterranean Penne Pasta

Whip up this nutritious and easy meal with the pre-made Mediterranean Sauce in less than 30 minutes.  A perfect solution to your leftovers too!

 

Hong Kong Style Poached Fish Head

The older Cantonese living in Singapore would be very familiar with the famous Loy Sum Juang Cantonese Restaurant (黎三元酒家).  It first started  business in the 70s at Outram Park and subsequently shifted to Tiong Bahru Plaza in the 80s.  Just found out recently that it is now located at Murray Terrace.

The mention of Loy Sum Juang will always remind me of its Hong Kong Style Fish Head.  Although I have not visited the restaurant for a long time, the taste of the succulent fish head still lingers in my mind. 

I'm not sure if the Hong Kong Style Fish Head is made famous here by Loy Sum Jung Restaurant, but you will see almost all zhi-char stalls at the Outram Park area hawker centre selling this dish now.
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Some people may say Song Fish Head gives a muddy taste, but the texture of the flesh of this fish is so soft and succulent that no other fish can replace it.  Song Fish Head is also very cheap at the wet market.  Price range from $6 - $10 for a fish head that weighs around 1.2 - 1.8kg.  It is definitely much more economical to prepare this at home.

Fried Oyster Cake 炸蚝饼

My son has been raving about the Fried Oyster Cake (炸蚝饼) sold at Chomp Chomp Hawker Center for a long time.  After trying it myself, I have to agree with him that it does taste really good.  However, the price of $2.50 for a piece of snack that could hardly fill the stomach seems ridiculous to me. 

NTUC Supermarkets has started to carry frozen oyster recently which costs only $3.80 a packet (200g).  I used it to recreate this hawker-snack based a recipe I found on-line and the result was very satisfying!  The oyster cake is crispy outside and moist inside.  Even my son gives a thumbs-up for it!  

For the cost of less than a fraction of what you pay outside, this recipe is definitely a keeper!   



 

Fried Oyster Cake 炸蚝饼

Fluffy Pancakes

This is by far the best pancake recipe I've ever tried.  The pancakes are light and fluffy.  Although ideally served as breakfast with maple syrup and butter, you can also whipped up these easy pancakes for snack anytime of the day with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Restaurant-Style Steam Fish Soy Sauce

This is my children's favourite recipe for Chinese Steam Fish. They could gobble down bowls of white rice just with the pipping hot aromatic sauce from the steam fish.


This sauce goes well with steamed Seabass, Groupa and Soon Hock.  The texture of these fish is super delicate and smooth, but of course they are pricy too.  So, the perfect way to cook these expensive fish is to steam it without any seasoning to retain its original 'sweetness'.  Just place a few pieces of sliced old ginger and some spring onion (white section) on top of the fish, drizzle 2 tbsp of chinese white wine and steam the fish for 8 - 10 minutes.  Remember to discard the liquid in the steaming tray - this will give the fish a bitter and fishy taste.  


Timing is also of essence in preparing this dish.  Prepare the sauce and ginger-onion oil while steaming the fish to ensure everything is pipping hot when serve.  Nothing taste better than a sizzle hot steamed fish straight from the kitchen.

Restaurant style Steamed Soon Hock with Soy Sauce

Avocado Puree with Vanilla Ice-Cream

I had this dessert last week at a Chinese Restaurant.  And oh my, never did I know avocado could taste so good as a dessert!!

Although this tiny fruit is know to be packed with essential nutrients our body needs, Avocado had never been an ingredient in my kitchen.  It would be a challenge to gain my children's fancy because it is a rather tasteless fruit that is too rich in taste.

Relying on my loyal taste buds, I replicated this dessert yesterday.  

My whole family simply loves it!!  The buttery-creamy texture of the avocado goes really well with the coconut cream, giving the dessert a silky smooth texture.  A scoop of vanilla ice-cream on top adds to a right amount of sweetness too.  

While the fruit is still in season now, try the recipe and enjoy the goodness of this wholesome fruit today!

Nutritional Facts of Avocado:

• Avocados provide nearly 20 essential nutrients our body needs, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. 
• They also act as a "nutrient booster" by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit. 
• Avocados can also help reduce blood cholesterol levels and risks of Cardiovascular disease because it contains both monosaturated and polyunsaturated fat, the 'good' fats we need.

 

`Sushi-Tei' Salad Dressing

This is what made my boys eat salad for the first time in their lives...and they are still loving it.  

This tangy-sweet japanese style salad dressing, drizzle on a plate of cold crisp lettuce and freshly cut sashimi, is their must-order dish whenever we visit the Sushi-Tei Japanese Restaurant.  

After much trials and errors, I finally managed to come up with the concoction of this dressing.  Although it is a little thicker than the one serve at the restaurant, the taste is almost similar.  Try this, if you want to get your children to eat their greens!
 

'Sushi-Tei' Salad Dressing (Serve 5 - 6) 

 

Sweet and tangy japanese-style salad dressing

Chives Dumpling (Pot-Sticker) 锅贴

My two growing-up boys are always hungry.  I have to ensure that my fridge is always packed with ready-to-eat food.  This is one good recipe to prepare ahead and store in your freezer.  Use ready-made dumpling skins to save you preparation time.  Uncooked Chives Dumpling can be stored in the freezer for up to a month. 

Crispy Roast Pork Belly (烧肉)

It's never easy to replicate the crispy roast pork prepared by Hong Kong Chefs at the Chinese Restaurant.  But this recipe produces the most succulent and crispy roast pork that is comparable to those serve at the coffee shop 烧腊店 .  The secret to the perfect crackling is the use of Rice Wine Vinegar.  Brush a little on the skin at the end of cooking and grill the pork belly under high heat, you will see the skin 'popping' and cracking away almost immediately.

Crispy Roast Pork Belly (serve 5)

 

Smoky Buffalo Wings

After having their first taste of buffalo wings at Jerry's BBQ & Grill, my children have been pestering me to replicate the dish at home.  The wings serve at Jerry's, though delicious, were a little too spicy for them.  After experimenting with a few recipes, this is by far the tastiest and easiest to prepare.  

The success of this recipe lies in the perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness in the sauce.  The use of paprika in this dish is essential. It gives the smoky flavour without too much heat.  

This is a perfect party food item and definitely a crowd pleaser.  I prepared these for a kid's party a few weeks ago and it was a huge hit.  The children raved about them to their mummy and I was kept very busy sending out the recipe after that.  Try out this extremely economical dish - a big bag of chicken wings (2kg), which costs only about S$9, is enough to feed 8-10 very hungry children!!  Just remember to keep lots of tissue by their side when eating this. 

These smoky buffalo wings are as good as those serve in restaurants. Yummy!